11 Films That Caused Major Religious Controversy

Making a movie about religion is a surefire way to court controversy. It’s a sensitive subject, one that must be handled delicately, lest a filmmaker incite the fury of millions of believers all over the world. Some are able to handle it with ease, while others handle it with the grace of, say, Sean Spicer invoking Hitler during Passover. Here’s a look back at some of the films that quickly managed to stoke religious ire, from comedies like Monty Python’s Life of Brian to the Hindu drama Water.

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Dogma

Kevin Smith’s 1999 comedy about a pair of angels (played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) spurned from heaven and sent to Wisconsin was condemned by the Catholic League even before it hit theaters. After obtaining a script for the film, the religious organization called the project blasphemous.

The Exorcist

Ah, an oldie but goodie. The horror movie, about a girl possessed by a demon, has become a classic over time, but was criticized by Catholic groups upon its release and later, oddly, found itself in the middle of a creepy subliminal-messaging controversy.

The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson’s violent 2004 epic about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a blockbuster hit, but received an avalanche of criticism upon release. The primary concern lobbed at the film was its purported level of anti-Semitism. The Anti-Defamation League even released a statement condemning the film’s portrayal of Jewish people, saying it could “fuel” a new wave of anti-Semitism.

Noah

In 2014, Darren Aronofsky took a break from his typical art-house fare to write and direct Noah, an epic about the famed biblical figure. However, the film hit controversy early on (not least because of its fumbling excuse for the lack of diversity). The film was criticized and debated about by Christians and banned from release in countries like Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.

Submission

In 2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh and writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali teamed up for Submission, a radical short film about Islam and the abuse of Muslim women. The film quickly provoked outrage. Van Gogh was shot to death and stabbed by an extremist, and Hirsi Ali had to go into hiding shortly afterward.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian

The religious satire, released in 1979, also dealt with Christianity, imagining the fictional life of a man named Brian who gets mistaken for Jesus. Of course, many believers deemed it blasphemous (blasphemy!), and the film was protested by viewers and banned in many countries upon its release, including Ireland and Norway.

Battlefield Earth

The futuristic sci-fi film starring and produced by John Travolta was based on the first half of L. Ron Hubbard’s eponymous book. As Hubbard was the founder of Scientology, many viewers accused the film of operating as subliminal Scientology propaganda.

Angulimala

This 2003 Thai fantasy drama revolves around a guru on a killing spree. However, the film also depicts Buddha, and the combination stoked Thai Buddhists to urge a ban on the film. Director Sutape Tunniruteventually had to cut a few of the more violent scenes in order to get past government censors.

Water

Water, director Deepa Mehta’s drama about Hindu widows in India in the 1930s, dealt with controversy from the moment it started filming. The film’s set in India was protested and destroyed by groups who found it “anti-Hindu,” so Mehta had to pick up and film in Sri Lanka instead.

Innocence of Muslims

In 2012, a trailer for an inflammatory, anti-Islam short film titled Innocence of Muslims popped up on YouTube and quickly ignited a firestorm of backlash. The video, which featured “cartoonish scenes depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a child of uncertain parentage, a buffoon, a womanizer, a homosexual, a child molester and a greedy, bloodthirsty thug,” per The New York Times, provoked criticism all over the world. Producer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was forced to go into hiding after numerous threats, including one from a Pakistani minister who offered a $100,000 bounty for his death, and has changed his name several times over the last few years.

The Last Temptation of Christ

Before Silence, Martin Scorsese made this. The drama starred Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ as he deals with a series of worldly temptations. Naturally, the film, a departure from the way Jesus is represented in the Bible, was outrageous to Christians. The backlash got so heated that a Parisian theater showing the film was set on fire, leading to 13 injuries.